2016年大学英语四级模拟试题备考强化卷(八)

　　Part I Reading Comprehension (共20小题，每小题2分，共40分)

　　Directions: In this part there are four passages. Each passage is followed by four comprehension questions. Read the passage and answer the questions. Then mark your answer on the Answer Sheet.

　　Passage 1

　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on the following passage:

　　Some years ago the captain of a ship was very interested in medicine. He always took medicine books to sea and liked to talk about different diseases.

　　One day a lazy sailor on his ship pretended to be ill. He lay on his bunk (铺) and groaned as if he were very sick. The captain came to see him and was very pleased to have a patient to look after. He told the man to rest for a few days and made the other sailors do his work. Three days later another sailor pretended that he had something wrong with his chest. Once more the captain looked in his medical books and told “sick” man to have a rest.

　　The other sailors were very angry because they had more work to do. The patients had the best food and laughed at their friends when the captain was not looking. At last the mate (船长副手) decided to cure the “sick” men. He mixed up some soap, soot (烟灰), glue (胶水) and other unpleasant things. Then he obtained permission from the captain to give his medicine to the “sick” men. When they tasted the medicine, they really did feel ill. It was so horrible that one of the patients jumped out of hi bunk, ran up on desk and climbed the highest mast on the ship. He did not want any more medicine.

　　The mate told both of the men that they must take the medicine every half an hour, night and day. This soon cured them. They both said they felt better and wanted to start word again. The captain realized that the men tried to deceive him so he made them work very hard for the rest of the voyage.

　　1. The first sailor pretended to be ill because he wanted to .

　　A. test the captain’s knowledge of medicine B. be free from work

　　C. have the best food on the ship D. play a joke on his friends

　　2. When the captain knew a sailor was ill, he .

　　A. didn’t care much B. sent for a doctor

　　C. looked after him and told him to have a rest D. gave him some medicine

　　3. The patients felt better quickly because .

　　A. they had been given proper medicine

　　B. they learned that the captain had found out the truth

　　C. they were laughed at by their friends

　　D. the medicine the mate gave was horrible

　　4. When the captain knew he had been deceived, he .

　　A. told them not to do so again B. lost his temper

　　C. made them work harder D. fired them

　　5. Which of the following best summarizes the passage?

　　A. A sudden Cure. B. Two Patients. C. Captain and Sailors. D. A Difficult Voyage.

　　Passage 2

　　Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage:

　　When aluminum was first produced about a hundred and fifty years ago, it was so difficult to separate form the ores in which it was found that its price was higher than that of gold. The price remained high until a new process was discovered for refining the metal with the aid of electricity approximately three quarters of a century later. The new method was so much cheaper that aluminum because practical for many purposes, one of which was making pots and pans.

　　Aluminum is lightweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms. By mixing it with other metals, scientists have been able to produce a variety of alloys, some of which have the strength of steel but weigh only one third as much.

　　Today, the uses of aluminum are innumerable. Perhaps its most important use is in transportation. Aluminum is found in the engine of automobiles, in the hulls of boats. It is also used in many parts of airplanes. In fact, the huge “airbus” planes would probably never have been produced if aluminum did not exist. By making vehicles lighter in weight aluminum has greatly reduced the amount of fuel needed to move them, Aluminum is also being used extensively in the building industry in some countries.

　　Since aluminum is such a versatile (多用的) metal, it is fortunate that bauxite (铝土矿), which is one of its chief sources, is also one of the earth’s most plentiful substances. As the source of aluminum is almost inexhaustible, we can expect that more and more uses will be found for this versatile metal.

　　6. The price of aluminum was sharply reduced when people discovered a new refining process with the aid of .

　　A. wind B. solar energy C. hydraulic power D. electricity

　　7. Aluminum is .

　　A. lightweight, rustproof but not easily shaped into different forms

　　B. heavyweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms

　　C. lightweight, rustproof and easily shaped into different forms

　　D. lightweight and easily shaped into different forms but it is easy to become rusty

　　8. Which of the following is NOT true?

　　A. Aluminum is widely used in transportation.

　　B. Aluminum is also used in many parts of airplanes.

　　C. Aluminum is being used extensively in the building industry.

　　D. Aluminum is not used in its pure form.

　　9. Aluminum is found on earth mostly in the form of .

　　A. pure metal B. bauxite C. gold D. liquid

　　10. What is the passage talking about?

　　A. The features of aluminum and its functions. B. The process of aluminum.

　　C. The discovery of aluminum. D. The promising future of aluminum.

　　Passage 3

　　Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage:

　　The idea of a special day to honor mothers was first put forward in America in 1907. two years later a woman, Mrs. John Bruce Dodd, in the state of Washington proposed a similar day to honor the head of the family—the father. Her mother died when she was very young, and her father brought her up. She loved her father very much.

　　In response to Mrs. Dodd’s idea that same year—1909, the state governor of Washington proclaimed (宣布) the third Sunday in June Father’s Day. The idea was officially approved by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. in 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended national observance of the occasion “to establish more intimate (亲密) relations between fathers and their children, and to impress upon fathers the full measure of their obligations.” The red or white rose is recognized as the official Father’s Day flower.

　　Father’s Day took longer to establish on a national scale than Mother’s Day, but as the idea grained popularity, tradesmen and manufacturers began to see the commercial possibilities. They encouraged sons and daughters to honor their fathers with small thank-you presents, such as a tie or pair of socks, as well as by sending greeting cards.

　　During the Second World War, American servicemen stationed in Britain began to request Father’s Day greeting cards to send home. This generated a response with British card publishers. Though at first the British public was slow to accept this rather artificial day, it’s now well celebrated in Britain on the third Sunday in June in much the same way as in America.

　　Father’s Day seems to be much less important as occasion than the Mother’s Day. Not many of the children offer their fathers some presents. But the American fathers still think they are much better fated than the fathers of many other countries, who have not even a day for their sake in name only.

　　11. When did Father’s Day officially begin to have national popularity?

　　A. 1907 B. 1909 C. 1916 D. 1924

　　12. Who first started the idea of holding the Father’s Day?

　　A. Mrs. John Bruce Dodd B. Mrs. John Bruce’s Mother

　　C. The government of Washington. D. Some businessmen.

　　13. What flower will be popular on Father’s Day?

　　A. Lily B. Water Lily C. Red rose or white rose D. Sunflower.

　　14. Which statement is true, a according to this passage?

　　A. It took even longer for Mother’s Day to gain national popularity.

　　B. The businessmen helped to make Father’s Day popular.

　　C. Father’s Day is only celebrated in America.

　　D. Father’s Day is only a trick of the businessmen to make money.

　　15. What was the first reaction of the British publishing towards Father’s Day?

　　A. They thought highly of it and accepted it at once.

　　B. They just accepted it at once without any hesitation.

　　C. They just thought it a joke.

　　D. They thought it was too artificial and took a long time to accept.

　　Passage 4

　　Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage:

　　Culture shock is an occupational disease (职业病) for people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad.

　　Culture shock is caused by the anxiety that results from losing all familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. Those signs are as following: when to shake hands and what to say when meet people, when and how to give tips, how to make purchases, when to accept and refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not. These signs, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, or customs, are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend on hundreds of these signs for our peace of mind and day-to-day efficiency, but we do not carry most at the level of conscious awareness.

　　Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar signs are removed. No matter how broadminded or full of good will you may be a series of supports have been knocked from under you, followed by a feeling of frustration. When suffering from culture shock people first reject the environment which caused discomfort. The ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad. When foreigners in a strange land get together in complain about the host country its people, you can be sure that they are suffering from culture shock.

　　16. According to the passage, culture shock is .

　　A. an occupational disease of foreign people B. may lead to very serious symptoms

　　C. actually not a disease D. incurable

　　17. According to the passage, culture shock result from .

　　A. the sudden change of social atmosphere and customs

　　B. the sudden change of our daily habits

　　C. the sudden loss of our own signs and symbols

　　D. the discomfort that we feel when faced with a foreigner

　　18. Which one of the following may not be a symptom of culture shock?

　　A. You don’t know how to express your gratitude.

　　B. You don’t know how to greet other people.

　　C. You suddenly forget what a word means.

　　D. You don’t understand why a foreigner shrugs.

　　19. According to the passage, how would a person who stays abroad most probably react when he is frustrated by the culture shock?

　　A. He is most likely to refuse to absorb the strange environment at first.

　　B. He is really to accept the change and adapt himself to the new environment.

　　C. Although he takes the culture difference for granted, he still doesn’t know how to do with it.

　　D. He may begin to hate the people or things around him.

　　20. The main idea of this passage is that .

　　A. culture shock is an occupational disease

　　B. culture shock is caused by the anxiety of living in a strange culture

　　C. culture shock has peculiar symptoms

　　D. it is very hard to cope with life in a new setting

　　Questions 16 to 20 are based on the following passage:

　　In a family where the roles of men and women are not sharply separated and where many household tasks are shared to a greater or lesser extent, notions of male superiority are hard to maintain. The pattern of sharing in tasks and in decisions makes for equality and this in turn leads to further sharing. In such a home, the growing boy and girl learn to accept equality more easily than did their parents and to prepare more fully for participation in a world characterized by cooperation rather by the “battle of the sexes”.

　　If the process goes too far and man’s role is regarded as less important—and that has happened in some cases—we are as badly off as before, only in reverse.

　　It is time to reassess the role of the man in the American family. We are getting a little tired of “Monism”—but we don’t want to exchange it for a “neo-Popism”. What we need, rather, is the recognition that bringing up children involves a partnership of equals. There are sings that psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and specialists on the family are becoming more aware of the part men play and that they have decided that women should not receive all the credit—nor the blame. We have almost given up saying that a woman’s place is in the home. We are beginning, however, to analyze man’s place in the home and to insist that he does have a place on it. Nor is that place irrelevant to the healthy development of the child.

　　The family is a co-operative enterprise for which it is difficult to lay down rules, because each family needs to work out its own ways for solving its own problems.

　　Excessive authoritarianism (命令主义) has unhappy consequences, whether it wears skirts or trousers, and the ideal of equal rights and equal responsibilities is pertinent (相关的，切题的) not only to a healthy democracy, but also to a healthy family.

　　16. The ideal of equal rights and equal responsibilities is .

　　A. fundamental to a sound democracy B. not pertinent to healthy family life

　　C. responsible for Monism D. what we have almost given up

　　17. The danger in the sharing of household tasks by the mother and the father is that .

　　A. the role of the father may become an inferior one

　　B. the role of the mother may become an inferior one

　　C. the children will grow up believe that life is a battle of sexes

　　D. sharing leads to constant arguing

　　18. The author states that bringing up children .

　　A. is mainly the mother’s job B. belongs among the duties of the father

　　C. is the job of schools and churches D. involves a partnership of equals

　　19. According to the author, the father’s role in the home is .

　　A. minor because he is an ineffectual parent

　　B. irrelevant to the healthy development of the child

　　C. pertinent to the healthy development of the child

　　D. identical to the role of the child’s mother

　　20. With which of the following statements would the author be most likely to agree?

　　A. A healthy, co-operative family is a basic ingredient of a healthy society.

　　B. Men are basically opposed to sharing household chores.

　　C. Division of household responsibilities is workable only in theory.

　　D. A woman’s place is always in the home.